TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Arabian style cuisines were served to King Salman during his visit here, such as lamb rice popular to Indonesians as nasi kebuli or kebuli rice. It is a dish that mainly consists of rice, which in its presentation, has a deeper yellow color complete with a distinct aroma compared to local Indonesian rice. At a glance, the dish would seem to be smeared with spices. Kebuli rice is prepared by mixing rice with lamb stock, goat’s milk, cumin oil, and a number of grounded spices, such as ginger, cardamom, cumin, and cloves.
“If I was given the honor to prepare King Salman’s meal, I would have presented him with a menu such as kebuli rice, but the one that is from Indonesia. The appropriate menu is 'nasi minyak Batanghari Jambi' (Batanghari Jambi oil rice),” William Wongso said on Thursday, March 2, 2017.
The well-known culinary expert stated, “They shouldn’t have presented [The King] with kebuli rice, considering that it’s too close to the dish that they often eat. There should have been other various menus, [such as] Batanghari Jambi oil rice,” he said.
William did not just pick this specific menu out of the blue. He argues that the process of making it and the ingredients included are similar to kebuli rice. According to William, nasi kebuli is a menu that has became so popular in Indonesia.
“Nasi minyak Batanghari Jambi also includes ten spices in its creation, the difference is that in making nasi kebuli, the spices are grounded and cooked together [with the other ingredients]. Meanwhile, nasi minyak Batanghari Jambi uses spices that are boiled in a pot which is then strained. The liquid left after is what is used in cooking the rice,” he explained.
He continued to explain that the rice will also be added with unsweetened condensed milk, beef stock, and samin oil. “The stock used in this isn’t lamb stock, but beef. Talking about taste, it tastes delicious, even better than nasi kebuli,” he concluded.
William also said that it is also garnished with pickled tomatoes, cucumber, and pineapple. “It tastes fresh. And if you want to add lamb meat pieces, it must be cooked black, not rendang or curry. This is for the [rice] pair.”
HADRIANI P.